Google has released the latest in its line of comparison tools – Mortgage Comparison. The beta program, dubbed Google Merchant Search has been in testing for some time. News of the release started with Google merchant search for loans in the UK.
The enormous trust and authority that Google have will encourage searchers to use Google for their comparison needs rather than existing aggregators or lead generation sites.
The existing market for lead gen (particularly life insurance) in the UK is very strong. When you combine this with the popularity of comparison sites, this is a very bold move. This is US only at the moment but will surely be here before you know it.
Over the last year, according to Hitwise:
Search terms with the word ‘cheap’ have decreased by 32% over the past year whilst searches with the word ‘compare’ have increased by 92%. Of course this doesn’t show that consumers are not looking for cheap deals anymore, what it shows is that they are confident that they are able to find cheap deals whilst comparing providers on a comparison site.
So, I’m sure there are lead gen/comparison site owners out there. What are your thoughts? Are you scared?
Insiders View – The Insurance Blog
Compare Mortgages with Google – Mortgage Comparison Launches
Related Posts:
- Tesco Compare Launches at tescocompare.com
- Google Launching Loan Comparison
- Call Me Old Fashioned – Where Do Comparison Sites Draw The Line On Outbounding
